The lineage of the name Cawood begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in Yorkshire, where the name was taken from the town of Cawood in the county's West Riding. The place-name was first recorded as Kawuda in 963 AD and was originally derived from the Old English words ca, meaning jackdaw, and wudu meaning woods, and described a wood where by jackdaws were common.

Cawood Early Origins

The surname Cawood was first found in North Yorkshire, where Cawood is a large village and civil parish in the Selby district. The village dates back to 963 when it was listed as Kawuda. [1]CITATION[CLOSE]Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4) and was given by King Athelstan to the see of York, about 935, in the time of Archbishop Wulstan. Today it is better known as the place where the Cawood sword was found. It is regarded as "one of the finest Viking swords ever discovered" and is nearly 1,000 years old and can be seen at the Yorkshire Museum. This locale is also the home of Cawood Castle, a palace for the Archbishops of York which dates back to 1181. Today Cawood Castle is owned by the Landmark Trust.

Cawood Spelling Variations

Cawood Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Cawood has undergone many spelling variations, including Cawood, Kawood, Cawoode, Cawod and others.

Cawood Early History

Cawood Early History

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cawood research. Another 131 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1514 and 1572 are included under the topic Early Cawood History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cawood Early Notables (pre 1700)

Cawood Early Notables (pre 1700)

Another 33 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cawood Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The Great Migration

The Great Migration

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Cawood were among those contributors:

Cawood Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Cawood who arrived in Barbados in 1635 later moved to St. Christopher

Richard Cawood, aged 25, arrived in Barbados in 1635

George Cawood, who arrived in Maryland in 1660-1661

Stephen Cawood, who landed in Maryland in 1670

Ann Cawood who settled in Maryland in 1676

Cawood Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Nellie Cawood, aged 39, who emigrated to the United States from County Down, Ireland in 1903

Herbert Cawood, aged 18, who emigrated to America from Sheffield, England, in 1909

Annie Cawood, aged 27, who landed in America from Leeds, England, in 1910

Library of Congress. American and English Genealogies in the Library of Congress. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. Print.

Bede, The Venerable. Historia Ecclesiatica Gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History Of the English People). Available through Internet Medieval Sourcebook the Fordham University Centre for Medieval Studies. Print.

The Cawood Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Cawood Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.